Knowledge acquisition: issues, techniques, and methodology

The application of expert systems in organizations has increased dramatically in recent years. The power of these expert systems mainly derives from the knowledge they possess rather than the jnference mechanism they employ. Knowledge acquisition is the process of extracting knowledge from experts and structuring this knowledge into a computer readable form. To ensure the performance of an expert system, the acquisition of knowledge becomes the most essential task in the development process. This paper first discusses the selection of domain experts; the roles of the knowledge engineer, users and managers, and factors related to a decision of whether to use single or multiple experts. Knowledge acquisition techniques including interviewing, observations, protocol analysis, discourse analysis, repertory grid analysis, brainstorming, Nominal Group Technique, Delphi technique, consensus decisionmaking, andcomputer-aided group sessions are then reviewed. Difficulties of employing these techniques are discussed. A knowledge acquisition methodology that was developed to layout a systematic approach to acquiring knowledge from domain experts is described next. This methodology has four phases: planning, extraction, analysis, and verification. The paper concludes with trends in knowledge acquisition. Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the ACM copyright notice and the title of the publication and ita date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Association for Computing Machinery. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and/or specific permission.

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